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Welcome to the Wandsworth Society website, whether as a visitor or as a member of the Society. Our latest (Summer) Newsletter is here. Earlier Newsletters can be found on our Archive page. Further material on the planning applications mentioned in the Newsletter will be published on the website shortly.

Latest news and events(updated
2 June)

Our programme of events, including meetings and outings, has recently been updated. For full details, see our Events page.

Wandsworth Society in the news

17-storey tower for Homebase site (Swandon Way) rejected
The Council’s Planning Applications Committee (PAC) at its meeting on 27 June refused approval – by 4 votes to 3 – for a ‘revised’ application that still included a 17-storey tower. The Society had objected strongly to this scheme from the start (see below). Our objections were frequently mentioned in the debate and had been supported by a range of other local groups, including the Riverside West Residents Association, Transition Town Wandsworth, the Tonsley Residents’ Association, the Battersea Society, together representing several hundred people. See also the Wandsworth Guardian report: Plans for controversial 17-storey building on Homebase site in Wandsworth Town rejected by councillors.

“Developer defies order to rebuild pub and submit new housing plan”.
The Evening Standard report on 24 June under this headline reflected local concern over the continuing saga of the Alchemist pub site (once the Fishmongers’ Arms). The Society’s comments about Planning Application 2016/0647 are quoted: “We believe the application [for rebuilding on the site] should be refused as the information provided is inadequate and insufficient to satisfactorily describe the proposed work, and critically the appearance of the front elevation”. The PAC is expected to consider the application at its meeting on 21 July. See the 27 May Wandsworth Guardian report, “Permission sought to rebuild Alchemist Pub in Battersea after it was demolished without consent”. It also quotes the views of two members of the Society’s planning group.

Current planning issues

Homebase site, Swandon Way
The Society objected strongly to planning application 2015/6608, which involved a 17-storey tower overlooking the Tonsleys and Old York Road – another development proposal in apparent conflict with the Council’s own policy for tall buildings in the immediate area. The scheme was initially due to be discussed by the Council’s Planning Applications Committee (PAC) on 23 March. However, the developer, faced by an onslaught of criticism (including from the Society), sought further time to “address residents’ concerns”. The revisions made appeared to many to be merely “cosmetic”; there was no reduction proposed in the height of ‘Station tower’. The revised scheme was considered by the PAC on 27 June (see above).

The Society’s original letter to the Council is here. Having seen the officers’ report on the initial scheme, we sent further comments, which can be seen here.
Having seen the revisions, we sent in further comments here.

Neal's Lodge:
Planning application 2015/4797 for the change of use of parts of Neal’s Lodge, Wandsworth Common, as a pre-school for some 62 infants, proved very controversial. The application was approved by the Council’s Planning Applications Committee on 24 February, by 7 votes to 3 (Cllr Critchard (Lab.), Cllr Heaster (Con.) and Cllr McCausland (Con.). In the view of the Society and many others, major concerns remain over the impacts on the Common. See the Society’s comments on the application here. The lease to the pre-school has not yet been awarded. Local residents have applied for judicial review.

Feathers WharfOur President, Shirley Passmore, wrote to the Council on this subject (see Planning News in our February Newsletter). Her letter is here.

Springfield ParkAs noted in the February Newsletter, the Society has supported the landscaping proposals for Springfield Park. You can see our letter here. And you can see pictures of how the Park might look here.

The Historic Environment
The Council recently sought views on a revised Supplementary Planning Document (to form part of the Local Plan) on the historic environment. Our enthusiasm for the text was not unalloyed. You can read our views in a letter here, which includes a link to the Council text.

Crossrail 2* – consultations
A further round of public consultation on Crossrail 2 concluded recently. The Society’s response can be read here. The consultation included a new proposal to route Crossrail 2 through Balham rather than Tooting (the route earlier proposed) and the construction of a ventilation & access shaft on the edge of Wandsworth Common opposite the junction of Honeywell Road and Bolingbroke Grove. Details can be accessed here. There are other links, more details on other aspects of the consultation and an interactive map at www.crossrail2.co.uk including more fact sheets. You can read more about Crossrail 2 shaftshere. There will be further consultations in due course.

Replacing Wandsworth Town’s gyratory road system*
Transport for London (TfL) has been consulting further on its revised proposals, details of which can be found here. Many Society members and other local residents submitted their personal responses to the proposals. The Society’s own submission (17 January) is here.

Another tall tower for Wandsworth Town centre*
... despite our objections (see here) the Council has now approved the developer’s revised application for a taller tower, offering a lower proportion of ‘affordable’ housing.

An eyesore approved:
Despite the opposition of many local residents and the Wandsworth Society, the Council’s Planning Applications Committee approved on 21 May the Council’s plan to erect an 11.5 metre high illuminated advertising hoarding on the north-east corner of East Hill, at the junction with Trinity Road. You can read the Society’s objections to planning application 2015/0507 here. Our Chairman wrote recently to the Wandsworth Guardian, expressing the Society’s concern over the development. Further correspondence followed. We understand that the Council is now considering the need for a Council policy statement on such advertising hoardings, as the Society and others have sought.

Wandsworth Town:
Despite the strong objections of the Society and many local residents, the Council’s major re-development project that includes the building of a 26-storey tower on the South Thames College site, overlooking (overshadowing) the Old Burial Ground, is now set to go ahead. For more, see Current Concerns.

Initial building work has begun on the Ram Brewery site – now described as the ‘Ram Quarter’
See www.ram-brewery.co.uk, where you can find details of the first building phase (and of the neighbourhood construction liaison meetings that some Society members have been attending). Enabling works are being undertaken by Keir Construction. The first phase of building involves the restoration of heritage buildings within the brewery complex and the construction of 338 apartments, the basement for the development, an energy centre and links to Southside shopping centre. This phase is due for completion in early 2017. The Society’s earlier involvement with the project is described on our Current Concerns page. Following recent planning approvals, the planned tall tower block (Phase 2) will now reach 38 storeys.

The WEF meeting held in the Town Hall on 19 January discussed 'Rubbish, Recycling and The Circular Economy'. The minutes here contain a lot of interesting material - and questions needing answers and/or further discussion. You can read about the ‘circular economy’ here. Dealing with rubbish is an important - and often fascinating - issue! The Society, along with other local groups, is a member of the WEF and all are welcome to attend its meetings.